Drama

Students may select drama as a major through the Performing Arts Department. This major combines the historical, cultural, theoretical and literary study of theater and performance with a full array of theater production courses, including acting, directing, performance art, design (set, costume, lighting, sound) and playwriting. The Performing Arts Department strongly believes in the mutually beneficial relationship between the study and the practice of theater. A major in drama provides an academically rigorous course of study — with a strong grounding in theater history, dramatic literature, performance studies and dramatic theory — that also develops students' knowledge of theater by means of practice.

The three-semester Theater Culture Studies sequence provides an expansive, global study of theater and performance from pre-history to the 21st century; students take an additional two courses in theater and performance studies. Within theater arts, students choose courses in acting, directing, playwriting or design. Our theater arts courses, regularly drawing from playwrights such as Shakespeare, Chekhov and Beckett, are based on a liberal arts, rather than a conservatory, model. In the senior year, a Capstone course is team-taught by a theater and performance studies and a theater arts faculty member.

We also offer a special study abroad program that can be credited toward the major. Since 1991, we have been holding a national summer program at Shakespeare's Globe in London, which consists of a 3-unit course on acting Shakespeare and a 3-unit course on Shakespeare studies, in addition to several master classes taught by Globe personnel.

The Minor in World Music, Dance and Theater

Great works of literature, theatre, film, painting, music and dance provide us with new, intriguing — and often surprising! — ways of understanding reality. In this First-Year Seminar, we examine a variety of works in various media, paying close attention to works which have significantly altered or challenged the way we view and interpret reality. In an intimate, seminar setting, we analyze and discuss individual works of art from the Greeks to the present day. The course incorporates attendance at live performances (both on-campus and off), along with Master Classes by artists from the Performing Arts Department. Examining works both classical and the avant-garde, What is Art? forces us to understand and question how art complicates, enriches, disturbs and asks questions — both about ourselves and our world.

A variety of topics in comparative literature, designed for first-year students — no special background is required — and to be conducive to the investigation and discussion format of a seminar.Same as L16 Comp Lit 115

What does it mean to "act black"? What about "acting Jewish"? This course looks at performances of racial and ethnic identity, mostly in the United States, mostly in the 20th century. We examine novels (such as Nella Larsen's Passing), plays (such as Anna Deavere Smith's Fires in the Mirror), and performances of everyday life (such as "Cowboys and Indians") to investigate the performance of race in public. Once we begin to explore the social and cultural performance of race, will it all turn out to be "only" an act?

Ideation exists at all phases of a creative process: brainstorming, idea generation, innovation, prototyping, development and actualization. But Ideation is less like a line and more like a loop from observing to reflecting to making — and back again. It is a rarely understood but essential part of any creative or design process. Through collaboration and conversations with classmates, readings on the topic and group exercises, Ideation is a course that strives to define and demystify what we mean by "creativity," help students identify their creative strengths and weaknesses, encourage artistic experimentation of new ideas, establish methods of design thinking and make it clear that collaboration among varied backgrounds and disciplines is the key to coming up with creative solutions for complex problems. Successful companies such as IDEO led by visionaries in the form of Tim Brown and David Kelley have pioneered the notion of Design Thinking. "Design thinking" is defined as "the ability to combine empathy for the context of a problem, creativity in the generation of insights and solutions, and rationality to analyze and fit solutions to the context." This course encourages students to explore their collaborative talents in new ways that they find apply to virtually any discipline and career path: from A to Z.

Via a series of lectures from prominent thinkers and practitioners in the areas of medicine, neuroscience, law, engineering, architecture, human-centered design, business, stage design, and the performing arts, Designing Creativity is a course that covers the study and practice of the creative process across many disciplines. From "Ah-ha" epiphanies to slow-developing discoveries, the creative process is employed by innovators and artists in virtually every corner of the globe. In this course, we explore the study of those processes by hearing from creatives in many fields with practice of those techniques via a lab component that allows students to explore the development of innovative ideas in collaborative teams followed by project presentations to core faculty and classmates.Same as I50 InterD 175

Independent study. Students may contract with a faculty supervisor for credit for their work on theatrical productions or research. Contracts must be signed by the student, the faculty supervisor and the coordinator of Drama 200 before the student's work on the project commences. Credit and grade option are determined in each case.

An introductory study of the major elements involved with mounting a theatrical production. Utilizing guest speakers in both theater arts and theater studies, the course addresses such topics as scenic, costume, lighting and sound design; production management and procedures; and the history and culture of theatrical space and design. Students are required to serve as a crew member on one departmental production and attend productions of the Edison Theatre Ovations series and the Performing Arts Department.

The ability to speak well and to communicate effectively in the public forum is an essential skill for all students. This course aims to offer a comprehensive and wide-ranging approach to developing the skills of the contemporary speaker. While acknowledging and utilizing traditional approaches to public speaking, this course expands its reach to include applicable techniques from the world of the Performing Arts — especially theater and dance. The course does not intend to train the student as a dancer or actor, but it maintains that the successful speaker would do well to harness some of the transferable skill sets from these disciplines. The speaker, like the performer, must stand before an audience with an objective to communicate something well. Both should be dedicated advocates for the message. They share the common ground of requiring a strong voice for a sure delivery of the material, and an expressive physicality willing to fully embody and serve the message.

Moving in and out of practice and theory, this Focus plan interweaves a traditional introductory acting course with discussions of dramatic theory and visits to rehearsals where directors and actors work to shape the play. Must be taken concurrently with Drama 228C. Prerequisite: admission into the Theatre Focus program.Same as L61 FYP 215

What's the difference between a wink and a blink? What the difference between graduation, a sacrament, and the electric slide? We make fine-grained distinctions every day in our own enactment and interpretation of these different kinds of practices. This class will introduce students to key academic approaches to "ritual," "practice" and "performance," and will ask whether these distinctions are important or arbitrary. Ritual studies (based in religious studies) also happens to center around the very same questions that gave birth to gender and queer studies (is gender a performance?), thus a parallel examination of ritual and performance studies necessarily brings religious identity into conversation with broader questions of identity (gender, race, class).Same as L57 RelPol 215

A survey of ancient, medieval and Renaissance theater and performance, both in the west and in the east, both as it reflects and shapes culture. Coverage will include the following areas: ancient Greece, ancient Rome, classical Sanskrit theater, Yuan China, medieval Japan, medieval Europe, Renaissance Italy, and Renaissance England. Both scripted theater and performance practices will be examined through the lenses of dramatic literature, theater history, performance studies, and dramatic theory. A continual emphasis will be on marginal and underrepresented figures, as we will attempt to excavate forgotten histories from the theatrical past.

This course provides a survey of theater history from the early 17th through mid-19th centuries, covering plays, theories of drama and acting, and the material conditions of theatre production. We explore events in Asia, the Americas and Europe with particular attention to the Baroque era, Sentimentalism and Romanticism. The central objectives of the course are 1) to teach students to analyze plays in complex and creative ways, and 2) to cultivate understanding of the ways theater and performance practices reflect the philosophical ideas, aesthetic values, and sociopolitical realities of their historical context — even as these practices sustained and challenged such ideas, values and realities.

What are Lady Gaga & Beyonce doing? How do young men and women in poverty use performance for survival? Why do we create performance and for whom? In this class we apply the vocabulary and concepts of Performance Studies to social and theatrical worlds, understanding performance broadly: from popular culture to everyday life to theatre. To understand performance, we look closely at ethnographies, plays and literature. Subjects span a range of topics: racial impersonation, drag/house balls, celebrity culture, reality television, black-latino theatre, and slam poetry. Key course questions: How does performance inform everyday culture? How does culture inform popular culture and theatrical performance? This course takes seriously the "doing" and the "undoing" of things — as culture shifts, transforms and adjusts as bodies engage in the art of performance.

This course offers an opportunity to investigate the nature of the theater by way of performance. Students study a variety of theatrical texts in the most direct and experiential way, by acting in them. The course is designed for those who want to understand the interpretive work of the actor. Students are introduced to the practical work of building a character for the stage, and they also gain an understanding of how dramatic texts work both on the page and on the stage. Textual analysis, movement work and vocal production skills are developed using monologues, scene work and exercises. These skills also should provide significant benefits outside the confines of the class itself, in the professional and personal lives of the students taking this class.

The focus of this course is on the history, theory and practice of performance art and performance theater. The class engages in exercises that generate text, movement, sound and performance scores. Students create original performances that incorporate contemporary critical concepts. Performance production is supplemented by readings and videos that introduce the history and theory of experimental performance and work by specific performance artists.

What is the artist's responsibility to society? Should social and political concerns constrain or shape the work of the artist? What about when that artist is a member of an oppressed group? What about during a moment of historic, cultural, or planetary crisis? Can we separate the work of art from the (perhaps reprehensible) behaviors or views of the artist? What role does art's solicitation of emotion play in stimulating compassion and moral action? As art moves closer to activism, what standards of judgment should we apply? These are big questions and have been explored by philosophers, artists, and cultural critics across the globe. Many of them have been recently revived by contemporary social movements, including #MeToo, Black Lives Matter, and Occupy Wall Street. While this course examines these questions in artistic sites ranging from ancient Greek tragedy to 1920s Harlem poetry to 1980s feminist art, we will have ample opportunity to link our historical study to present-day concerns. Theatre, performance, literature, film, music, and dance will be explored. By looking at artistic works as well as the ethical and cultural debates that surround their creation, we will think together about artistic and civic responsibility, aesthetics, ethics, and tactics for social change. No artistic experience is required. Sophomores given priority.

The U.S. is in the midst of a second comedy boom. The first boom, during the 1980s, turned stand-up comedy into a major force in American entertainment, creating stars like Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy and Ellen DeGeneres. The second, defined in part by new social media, podcasting, and online digital video, is remaking the way comedians find their voices and their audiences. But even as Louis C.K., Natasha Leggero, Aziz Ansari, Rob Delaney and others chart new paths through a dynamic media landscape, live performance is still the heart of the modern comedy universe. This class is a detailed survey of the contemporary American comedy scene, in select historical context. Pioneering artists from vaudeville and the 1970s are introduced, the stand-up boom of the 1980s is presented as a formative force in today's comedy business, and modern philosophical perspectives on comedy are read and discussed (though we studiously avoid explaining jokes). Topics include alt-comedy, "blue collar" comedy, anti-comedy, heckling, joke theft, twitter, podcasting, the "scenes" of New York, L.A., San Francisco, and major clubs and festivals. Sketch unit covers The State, Mr. Show, Tim and Eric, and Key & Peele; Improv unit covers Del Close, Groundlings and Upright Citizens Brigade.

Students are taught basic interpretation of musical theater repertoire. The student learns to analyze and perform songs with regard to melody and musical form. Acting techniques are developed through lyric interpretation. Students also are introduced to basic audition practice and etiquette.

This course is intended as a one-hour credit to meet every Friday for two contact hours. While the main focus of this course is to dedicate time to learning and preparing a solid professional portfolio, résumé and webpage, this class also trains the students how to interact and conduct themselves through the interview process. We review numerous résumés from industry professionals, develop our own, develop both physical and digital portfolios consisting of students' academic and professional work, and culminate in building a strong and evocative webpage. Upon completion, the student has a solid understanding of the theater job market and be ready to face the world.

Students may receive up to 3 units of credit for an approved internship with an organization where the primary objective is to obtain professional experience outside the classroom. Students must file a Learning Agreement with the Career Center, a faculty sponsor and the site supervisor. This must be approved by all three constituencies before proceeding. A final written project is agreed upon between the student and faculty sponsor before work begins, and is evaluated by the faculty sponsor at the end of the internship.

A survey of African-American theater from post-Civil War "coon" shows and reviews to movements for a national black theater, such as Krigwa, Lafayette and Lincoln, and the Black Arts Movement. Early black theater and minstrels; black theater movement and other ethnic theater movements in America. Critical readings of such plays as Amiri Baraka's Dutchman, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston's Mulebone. Also works by August Wilson, Ed Bullins, Charles Fuller, Georgia Douglas Johnson.Same as L90 AFAS 301

Introduction to techniques for the alteration of the face through makeup to create convincing illusions of character. Individualized selection and personal application of makeup appropriate to the actor's face. Students are required to purchase a makeup kit.

Basic presentation of costume design from conception through final renderings, development of drawing and painting techniques for the costume plate, and the history of stage costume in the principal periods and styles of drama from prehistoric periods through 1800.

Basic presentation of costume design from initial conception through final renderings. Development of drawing and painting techniques on design projects taken from plays set in the 19th and 20th centuries. History of costume and fashion silhouette is illuminated through slide and video presentation of primary and secondary source materials.

One of the most thrilling things students learn in costume and fashion design is pattern making. It provides students with the tools to design garments without the restrictions of commercial patterns. It's essential knowledge for any designer who wants to be able to create their art. Much of what students learn in this class is of special use for historic costume design.

This course places an emphasis in the aesthetic practice of lighting design through the understanding of technology as it relates to time and space. Early on the student learns how to properly use and apply designer's tools and then through reading, research and experimentation explore the limitless boundaries of color and texture. This culminates in a stage design in collaboration with directing or dance class. Upon completion of the course, the student is able to speak eloquently on design theory and be able to move on to further design study in Drama 410 Advanced Lighting Design.

An introduction to the process of scene design, as it relates to aesthetics, dramatic literature, collaboration and production. Projects involve design conceptualization, documentation, graphics and realization. Prerequisites: permission of instructor.

Fundamentals of speech for the stage focusing on breath support, resonance, articulation and speech as an expression of an individual's needs. The course includes an introduction to stage dialects. Preference given to majors.

Can a cloakroom or a stairwell become a theater? How do site and placement affect the meaning potential of performance? How does contemporary environmental staging conjure a world different from that of the modern box set, the baroque perspective stage or Shakespeare's Globe? We engage such questions by drawing on theory, history and hands-on creation to examine historical, actual and potential performance spaces. Readings in architectural and dramatic theory, theater history, performance studies and philosophy provide both a critical descriptive vocabulary and a conceptual repertoire for use in creative class assignments — both informing students' investigations of actual theaters or other performance — ready spaces and provoking their creation of experimental performance spaces. Readings cover semiotic, materialist and situationist approaches to space, as well as concepts including site specificity, space vs. place, framing, perspective, miniature, the door, the curtain, the cloakroom and the monument.

This course explores three ways of theatre-making that have revolutionized the contemporary stage: devising (a collaborative process emphasizing physical techniques to realize ideas), adaptation (the transposition of a narrative from one mode to another), and docudrama (the self-conscious staging of history through the assemblage of documentary records). Beginning with a focus on the current "postdramatic theatre" and the pre-histories of these contemporary practices, we will engage current scholarship on each form, learning the "how" and "why" from contemporary practitioners, while considering the rhetorical structure of each form in relation to the social meanings they generate for their audiences. Divided into three units, the course will combine the study of each method with hands-on practice, and will conclude with a showcase featuring an original performance created by the student collective. A theme (variable by semester) will unite the three sections of the course, helping students see how a single topic can be illuminated in different ways through these three methods of creating performance.

This course examines compositional techniques and aesthetics in two forms of popular music: film/television scores and musical theatre. Popular songs and other musical works associated with film, television, and musicals are analyzed from multiple perspectives, giving students insight into the sonic, visual, and dramatic techniques employed by major composers. Students engage with the material in rigorous yet practical ways, from analytical projects to deep-listening exercises. This approach emphasizes sonic experience and situated musicianship as the primary means of accessing complex concepts from music theory.Same as L27 Music 3235

This course investigates an array of contemporary performances to explore manifestations of and challenges to gender norms in American culture. An initial reading of crucial performance theories by Judith Butler, Jill Dolan and others help set the stage for our examination of a diverse collection of contemporary texts, including plays, solo performances, stand-up and pop culture phenomenon. We raise questions about feminist performance strategies, butch/femme performance, camp, cross-dressing, feminist spectatorship, multimedia performances and the representation of lesbian desire. Prerequisite: any 100-level Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies course.

In this course we will examine the nature of dramatic comedy and its role in society. We will read, discuss and write about comedies from ancient Greece and Rome and from various modern nations, paying particular attention to the following questions: Do comic plays reinforce or challenge the preconceptions of their audiences? How have comic playwrights responded to issues such as class, gender, religion, and politics? Why does comedy have such power both to unite and to divide people? This course has an extensive writing component, so much of our time will be spent writing about the comedies we will read, revising what we have written, and discussing how best to write about comedy.Same as L08 Classics 385W

Course concentrates on the development of modern drama from 1945 to the present. Focus is on both literary and theatrical techniques as well as the examination of trends in the contemporary theatre from Samuel Beckett through Sam Shepard. Perspective is comparative and international in scope, with particular attention given to women and minority playwrights.Same as L14 E Lit 3361

In this course students study two very different but complementary styles of movement training. Developed by the Saratoga International Theatre Institute, this method of actor training combines the improvisational exploration of time and space through "Viewpoints" with the rigid structure and physical demands of the Suzuki method. This combined approach is designed to develop heightened awareness and acute focus in the performer. In addition, it fosters greater impulsiveness and freedom in the moment while maintaining discipline and control. Students gain flexibility and strength and enhance their creative potential by balancing these seemingly opposing methods. Prerequisite: Drama 341 Acting II Fundamentals of Movement or Dance 106E Introduction to Dance as a Contemporary Art Form.

Exploration of a variety of theatrical and movement concepts with emphasis on process rather than product. Concentrates on developing the expressive flexibility of the body and linking the imaginative impulse with physical movement. Preliminary work in relaxation and efficient self-use. Prerequisite: Drama 240E or permission of instructor.

Fundamental scene study using texts with emphasis on integration of voice and body and the playing of actions. Students are encouraged to precede this course with Drama 207C. Prerequisite: Drama 240E. Preference given to majors.

This 5-unit class fulfills both one theater studies and one theater arts requirement for the major. It combines fundamental actor training with dynamic, performance-oriented study of the stylistic foundations of modern acting. Text-based scene study that emphasizes the integration of voice and body and playing of actions is paired with units on contemporary and historical acting styles that give context to modern acting practice. Class units cover practical aesthetics and tactical choices for actors interpreting texts, as well as theories of the body in performance ranging from early modern notions of electric and vital passions, to oratorical gesture, Stanislavski, biomechanics, Brechtian alienation, and postmodern practices including documentary theater and cross-media mimesis. Since it fulfills both the Acting II requirement and a Theatre Studies requirement for the major, the class incorporates research, writing and critical thinking assignments. However, in keeping with the notion that performance constitutes a type of research outcome, student research projects involve kinetic elements. Acting styles are researched in archival sources and embodied in studio exercises and creative student projects.

This Acting Shakespeare course is paired with Drama 3472 as part of a four-week summer intensive program held at the Shakespeare's Globe Education Centre in London. This course, as well as the companion Text and History course (Drama 3472), is taught by a Washington University faculty member, and the program also draws heavily on British theater professionals and educators from Globe Education, who teach a set of short courses on movement, voice, textual analysis, historical context, monologue performance and stage combat. Frequent access to the Globe stage allows actors to work in a spatial configuration very similar to that once used by Shakespeare's company itself. The course culminates with performances of scenes and monologues on the Globe stage. Application process must initiate through the Performing Arts Department office.

Paired with Drama 347 Shakespeare Globe Program: Acting, this course uses the resources of London and the Globe Theatre as departure points for an examination of Shakespearean performance in its historical and cultural context. We pay close attention to the dramatic text: meter, style, metaphorical language, dramatic composition, rhetoric, genre, etc. We consider such topics as Shakespeare's playing spaces, the actor-audience relationship in the Globe Theatre, acting, movement, original rehearsal practices, the boy actor, costumes, sound, music, props and the culture of the Bankside (bear-baiting, taverns, violence, prostitution, etc.).

This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of cultural and media studies. Through a focus on television and new media, it analyzes current theoretical ideas and debates about culture. Main topics include the relationship between new technologies and everyday life and popular culture; analysis of media messages and images; how media help construct new identities and mark differences between groups; analysis of the globalization of the production and circulation of media culture; the rise of multimedia cultural industries; and the role of the audience. Required screenings.Same as L53 Film 349

A practical approach to the study of theater stage management focusing on organizational and communication skills. Workshops, lectures and discussion; guest speakers and field trips covering the pre-production, rehearsal and performance periods; labor relations/performing arts unions; career opportunities; and supporting the vision of the artistic team. Prerequisites: Drama 212E and Drama 240E.

The third in the department's three-course history sequence, TCS III surveys the dramatic literature and cultural history of the modern theater. Beginning with Romanticism's self-conscious break with the past, we'll study the rise of bourgeois melodrama with its intensely emotional rendering of character and spectacular effects. We'll consider how those effects were made possible by advances in industrial stage technology which reproduced the everyday world with unprecedented verisimilitude, and how playwrights responded to those technologies by calling for the theatre to become either a "total work of art" — plunging its spectators into a mythical realm — or a petri dish — analyzing the struggles of the modern individual within their modern milieu. Exploring a range of aesthetic modes — including Realism, Naturalism, Symbolism, Expressionism, the Epic Theatre, and the Theatre of the Absurd — we will read classic plays by modern playwrights to consider how the modern theatre helped its audiences understand as well as adapt to the rapidly changing conditions of the modern world.

This course provides the student with a basic understanding of all of the various types of technical drawings needed to successfully execute a scenic design. Throughout the course the student masters all the technical and aesthetic skills needed to produce clean and effective draftings for the theater. In order to successfully complete this class, the student is required to purchase a drafting board and related drafting materials.

A performance-oriented course that explores the black experience through acting, directing and playwriting. Students develop through classroom improvisation short performance pieces during the semester. They also are required to attend three to five plays. Each student must participate in a final performance which is in lieu of a written final examination.

This course focuses on developing the acting, singing and dancing techniques required for performing in musical theater. The student develops group pieces and participates in scenes that explore character within a musical theater context. The class culminates in a workshop performance. Prerequisites: Drama 221 and permission of instructor, by audition. Repeatable one time for credit.

What makes modern drama "modern?" How does it differ from the drama of other cultural movements? When does the modern period begin? This course takes up such fundamental questions in order to examine not only the influential plays that have come to define the "canon" of modern drama, but the various theories that have been proposed as a way of understanding them in relation to the history of Western culture. From Friedrich Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy to Walter Benjamin's thesis on the Trauerspeil to Emile Zola's Manifesto on Naturalism in the theater, we start by considering when modern drama begins and what constitutes its defining features. With such provisional definitions in place, we then engage the responses of fellow modernists such as Richard Wagner, William Archer, T.S. Eliot, Bertolt Brecht, Georg Lukacs and Theodor Adorno. We also consider whether so-called postmodern drama has broken with the modern period to introduce something altogether new, and how recent debates concerning interculturalism, the ideology of form and performance invite new ways of understanding the cultural function of modern drama and its legacy in our own historical moment.

Required course for AMCS majors. Refer to semester listing for current topic. As a Writing Intensive course, this course serves as an occasion for students to think about matters of argument and presentation, and to develop ideas and models for future research. This course is intended for students at the junior level or higher; it fulfills the "multidisciplinary" (MD) requirement for AMCS minors and the "Methods Seminar" requirements for AMCS majors.Same as L98 AMCS 375A

This course is a focused investigation of the aesthetic, political, and urban landscapes of the contemporary American theatre. We will read published and unpublished plays, familiarize ourselves with the country's most important companies, festivals, and institutions, and discuss issues facing the American theatre now. We will explore the role of the arts in urban planning and development, and address the relationship between higher education and arts institutions, paying particular attention to ideas of community engagement and social justice work undertaken by both. Artists to be studied may include Tony Kushner, Suzan-Lori Parks, Caryl Churchill, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Lynn Nottage, Young Jean Lee, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. This course will include a mandatory class trip at the end of March to the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky. Students will prepare for this trip by reading the works of featured playwrights and establishing a research project that will be carried out on-site. Findings from the research project will be presented upon the return to St. Louis. Admission to the course is by instructor permission only; an application form will be sent to all registered students at the conclusion of the registration period. In consultation with and with the permission of the instructor, this course may fulfill the Fieldwork requirement for American Culture Studies majors.

This course is designed as an advanced introduction to the aesthetic movement of Expressionism as it appeared in Germany and the United States in the media of theater and film. Characterized by stylized settings that "ex-press" the internal spiritual/emotional/psychological state of its central character, Expressionism is usually discussed as a reaction to Realism, given its overt symbolism, telegraphic diction and episodic action. Beginning with a brief general introduction to the movement (including its manifestation in the visual arts), we consider its cultural, political and critical history, while exploring more recent scholarly investigations into the significance of its performance dimensions.

Write, design, build, and perform Bunraku style inspired puppetry (three puppeteers on one puppet, performers are seen by the audience). This class covers a brief history of puppetry in culture. Main focus is to design and build characters based on stories and myths. Students will showcase the work with a devised end of semester performance, using the puppets built in the class.

From Cross Colours overalls, to oversized sweatshirts, to boom boxes, the 1990s was loud, colorful, and in your face. But along with the fun of house parties and the growing prominence of hip-hop, black people in the U.S. also contended with heightened criminalization and poverty codified through the War on Drugs, welfare reform, police brutality, and divestment from public education. In the midst of insurgency, creativity, and the quiet that undergirded both, we will study the various cultural productions of black performers and consumers as they navigated the social and political landscapes of the 1990s. Focusing primarily on urban centers, we will study major works growing out of hip-hop, R&B, comedy, television shows, films, and popular literature that attends to the regional differences throughout the nation. In this course, we will use theories from performance and cultural studies to understand the specificities of blackness, gender, sexuality, religion, and geography in the 1990s.

Survey of the tragic and comic dramas produced in Ancient Greece and Rome. Study of the plays' religious and civic performance contexts, responses of the ancient audiences, and literary interpretations.Same as L08 Classics 392E

Intensive study of the major tragic playwrights of Ancient Greece (Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides) and some of their imitators and critics in the Western tradition. We consider tragedy's origins, its literary elements and theory, its performance and religious contexts, and its social functions. Lectures with discussions.Same as L08 Classics 393

Film musicals were crucial to the success of the American film industry from the dawn of sound film in the late 1920s to the demise of the studio system in the late 1950s. This course examines the American film musical from a variety of aesthetic, critical, and historical perspectives, with particular attention to how the genre interacted with popular music and dance and the major political and social trends of the Thirties, Forties, and Fifties. Required screenings.Same as L53 Film 359

L15 Drama 3975 Wolves of Wall Street: American Business and Popular Culture

America's perceptions about Big Business and the Free Enterprise system have evolved and changed over time from the 1920s to the present. During the 1980s, for example, Oliver Stone's Wall Street seemed to endorse the notion that "greed is good." Today, however, the topic of rising income inequality has been connected with the collapse of prestigious Wall Street firms, the "housing bubble," a declining middle class, and widespread fear about the future of "The American Dream." This new course examines a variety of artistic, ethical and historical perceptions about American Business as depicted in popular culture and the arts over the past hundred years. How have America's foremost artists (among them F. Scott Fitzgerald, Eugene O'Neill, Arthur Miller, Martin Scorsese), dealt with questions of conspicuous consumption, the acquisition of capital for its own sake, and the disparity between rich and poor? We survey several artistic genres and artistic forms, including American tragic works like The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman, to popular musicals such as How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying and The Producers.Same as L98 AMCS 3975

An exploration of media and rendering techniques used for presentation of design ideas in scenery. A variety of stage sets, still lifes and figure drawing are rendered during a two-hour studio format with some additional studio time required. Materials are provided by students.

This course is an in-depth study of how computers can assist designers in drafting and rendering processes. Primary study is focused on the program Vectorworks. We fully explore the use of this program in development of scenic and lighting design projects from basic line drawings to fully rendered 3D images. Other programs covered are Autocad, Google Sketch Up, AG132, Photoshop CS3 and some lighting design previsualization software. Projects are centered on theatrical applications and based on students' imaginations.

A laboratory course that investigates dramaturgy from four vantage points: New Play Dramaturgy, Institutional Dramaturgy, Dramaturgy of Classics and Dramaturgical Approaches to Nontraditional and Devised Theater. This is a "hands-on" course where student dramaturges not only pursue the study of dramaturgy, but work actively and collaboratively with playwrights, actors and each other. Prerequisite: Drama 343.

Waiting for Godot, Happy Days, Krapp's Last Tape: These are but three of Samuel Beckett's revolutionary texts for theater. The complete canon of plays are examined for structure and compositional elements. Students undertake exercises in dramatic composition and perform a chamber presentation of Endgame. Course is intended for writers with some experience of the dramatic form. Intending students must interview with instructor Nov. 12-14.Same as L14 E Lit 404

Drawing upon the principles and teachings of Brazilian director Augusto Boal, students explore ways of effecting positive social change in a theatrical context. Students study the aesthetic of Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed and learn various games and exercises designed to mine issues of social (in)justice. Using Boal's techniques of "image" and "forum" theater, students then create and perform plays focused on these issues. This public performance is an interactive event offered for and with the university community. No prior performance training or experience is required for this course.

This course is a continuation of exploration begun in Drama 4081, Theater for Social Change: a prerequisite for this advanced course. Students expand from exploring their own experience with oppression to facilitating that exploration with others. Students are introduced to the "Joker" system, developed by Brazilian director Augusto Boal. The Joker is the director of a forum theater event. He leads both the exploration and playmaking phases of the process. In preparation for stepping into this role, students read Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which gives them a foundation in the power and efficacy of collaborative educational techniques. In addition, students read Theatre for Living, Canadian director David Diamond's book detailing his application of Boalian techniques in a less overtly oppressive society. Students begin their practical exploration by first working with one another, learning how to lead exercises and games, followed by an exploration of playmaking and the facilitation of an interactive forum theater event. The course culminates in an outside project in which each student is placed with a St. Louis area school or social organization. The student applies skills they have acquired throughout the semester by serving as the "Joker" of the workshop. In this role, the student leads the entirety of the workshop process with a selected group exploring ways of effecting positive social change in a theatrical context. The student facilitates exercises with the group that mine a chosen area of oppression with which the group is grappling. The student guides playmaking with the group that highlights this area of oppression. The resulting plays are presented then to the larger school or organization community. This culminating event is an interactive forum theater presentation that the student leads as "Joker."

What is/was Modernism? How did this worldwide phenomenon impact the arts in every genre and medium from the turn of the 20th century to the present? Do we still live in the age of Modernism, or should we consider ours a new, Postmodern age? This course examines these and other questions as they relate to the theater, prose, poetry and the visual arts. Our investigation focuses on most of the major literary and artistic movements, including Naturalism, Impressionism, Symbolism, Surrealism and Expressionism. We examine literary manifestoes that help to illuminate the periods under discussion, as well as look at individual works themselves. Central to our approach in the course is an interdisciplinary perspective. Among the luminaries whose work is considered are Ibsen, Strindberg, Chekhov, Hemingway, Dali, Picasso, Stravinsky, Artaud, Kafka and Beckett.

An advanced-level continuation of Drama 310. Emphasis is placed on design aesthetics and their application in a laboratory setting. Students explore color theory, lightboard programming and design analyses as well as execute a variety of finished projects. These projects cover a wide range of production styles and performance venues. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

Lighting Technology is an extremely hands-on approach to learning how the top industry designers create major shows and concerts with the most state-of-the-art equipment. We spend a considerable amount of time learning how to use and program robotic/moving lights, LED fixtures and video integration for use in drama, dance, musical and concert settings. The student gains intensive training in the use and programming of the ETC Express, ETC Ion and GrandMA 2 Light consoles with a full range of Vari*Lite robotic fixtures. In addition, the student receives training in Isadora, a very powerful video design program. Prerequisites: Drama 212 and Drama 310.

Exploration of the skills and traditions of theatrical scene painting in a laboratory setting. Projects involve color theory, basic surface treatment techniques, representational depiction and advanced problems. Realized paint work on Performing Arts production is part of the course. Prerequisite: permission of instructor.

An exploration of media and rendering techniques used in producing an effective costume design. Basic figure drawing, proportion, color, concepts, exaggeration and period style. Drawing and painting materials are provided by student.

Practical techniques in theatrical costume construction, including patternmaking, cutting and draping, and execution of design concepts. Research and design projects culminate in finished period garments and related accessories. Topics explored include corsetry and foundation garments, millinery, mask making, and dyeing and painting. Prerequisite: Drama 307 or permission of instructor.

This course focuses on the Hollywood star system. We explore stars in relation to celebrity and consumerism, especially how "stardom" is created by a system that seeks to create effects in film viewers whether conceived as audiences, fans or spectators. We examine the performance element of stardom and its relationship to genre, style and changing film technology. Also of concern is how stars and the discursive construction of stardom intersect with gender representation, race, ideology, sexuality, age, disability, nationality and other points of theoretical interest to and historical inquiry in contemporary film studies. While emphasis is placed on mainstream commercial U.S. cinema, students are encouraged to pursue questions beyond this framework within their own research. Required screenings.Same as L53 Film 422

This course invites students interested in the performing arts to apply their talents to the K-12 classroom through a service-learning component that allows them to develop and implement an arts-integrated curriculum grounded in current research in the cognitive sciences. Divided into four units, the course begins with a survey of recent research in cognitive science that traces the effects of arts-related activities on brain development. The second unit builds upon that theoretical grounding, focusing on a model of arts-integrated pedagogy developed through Harvard University's "Project Zero." The third and fourth units are practice-based, with students developing a lesson plan in a core subject area that incorporates the performing arts. Then — in consultation and collaboration with an Interchange artist-in-residence and a master teacher in the St. Louis or Normandy Public Schools — students implement their curriculum in a K-12 classroom, testing its efficacy as well as the theoretical assumptions upon which it is based. This course is open to all students across campus who have a strong interest and/or background in the arts, and who wish to explore opportunities in service learning.

This course is an exploration of the politics of performance and the performance of politics through the lens of American dance in the 20th and 21st centuries. Through readings, screenings and discussion, we will examine the ways in which American dance developed against and alongside political movements in the United States, particularly ones concerning nationalism, race, gender and human rights. We will also investigate how the lens of dance and choreography offers an expansive means to conceptualize political questions of citizenship and social protest, broadening our understanding of embodied performance. Guided by several key philosophical texts, our class will focus on concepts necessary to examining the convergence of performance and politics (such as representation, ritual, spectacle, body, mimesis, propaganda, etc.) while also paying special attention to the politics of funding and censorship that has governed the creation and presentation of dance in the United States. No dance experience is necessary.Same as L29 Dance 426

A close study of expressionism as an international phenomenon in the arts, from the anti-naturalist movements of the 1890s to Hitler's condemnation of expressionism as decadent. The evolution of expressionist theater from Wedekind to Toller and Kaiser and such composers as Schoenberg and Berg; in the visual arts, such groups as Der blaue Reiter and Die Brucke, such independents as Kokoschka; in cinema, such figures as Pabst, Murnau, Von Sternberg and Lang. Prerequisite: Drama 208E, Drama 336 or permission of instructor.

The course begins with Plato's critique of mimesis and Aristotle's defense, as we read The Poetics as a response to Plato. We take some of Aristotle's basic concepts, such as mimesis, plot, character and thought, and attempt to apply them to drama up to the present day. We also consider fundamental elements of both the dramatic text and the dramatic production, such as space, time, dialogue, narrative devices and perspective. Brecht's theory of "epic drama" form the other conceptual pole in the course, opposing Aristotle. Besides these two theorists, other figures include Ben Jonson, Corneille, Dryden, Diderot, Schiller, Hegel, Zola, Artaud and Grotowski. The course, then, has both chronological and thematic axes. Three papers and one oral presentation.Same as L16 Comp Lit 436

Taking ghost as apparition, metaphor, an imaginary, and type of possession, this course focuses on the intersections between performance, affect theory, and archival practice to investigate how scholars and artists contend with the psychic and affective terrors against blackness. Part of these terrors, the course asserts, happened and is happening in the realm of the affective, ephemeral and archival. Moving across theoretical works, literature and theater, our readings differently query: How can performance enable us to recuperate the lives of those violently erased from the archive? How to imagine embodiment for subjects "tracked" by history, such as black folks whose bodies suggest other forms of pathology, like sexual deviancy, mentally "insanity," and other forms of criminalization? How have attachments to ghosts been used as a methodology to stage and reperform blackness in the past and in the present? And lastly, how can we capture embodiment (or enfleshment) without live bodies? By rethinking "liveness," "absence," "loss" and "remains," the readings and discussions will offer performance as a methodological and analytical infrastructure to conduct historical and/or archival research.

In his 1998 book, Musicking, Christopher Small asserts that music is not a thing but an activity — something that people do. Starting from this premise, this course explores musical performance as a live event, one in which additional aspects of performance — dramatic enactments, costume, choreography and stage design — also come into play. While recorded music plays an important role in our investigations, we focus on musical events that take place before and with live audiences. Exploring the choices of performers and the expectations of audience members in settings from gospel churches to Radio City Music Hall, this course moves through a wide variety of musical genres, including cabaret, blues, opera, protest song, musical theater and rock. We examine artists whose work blurs the line between "music" and "theater," including George Clinton, Taylor Mac and Gertrude Stein, as well as everyday people, such as the singers of the Civil Rights Movement, who used the power of live musical performance to change the course of human history. We also attend performances around St. Louis, guided by the interests of the class. Students with an interest in music, theater, dance, cultural history, American studies, and African-American studies are especially welcome.Same as L98 AMCS 4370

Acting IV synthesizes the student's performance training; creative and scholarly writing skills; and knowledge of dramatic literature. The advanced acting student is encouraged to develop and articulate his/her own aesthetic convictions. The course includes intensive solo performance projects, including writing and performing original monologues. Also, significant emphasis is placed on preparing the student for the work of professional acting, including workshops on audition monologues, head shots, résumés and economic issues. In addition, the students become familiar with various American theater cities, the regional theater system, and prominent working theater artists. The course closes with a public performance of the original, scripted and audition material developed over the semester. Prerequisite: Drama 342.

This capstone course invites students to synthesize their critical, historical and theoretical studies of theater and performance by exploring in-depth the theatrical manifesto. Theater history is littered with declarations of theatrical vision, from the Italian Futurists of the early 20th century to the feminist collectives of the 1970s to the 21st-century drag queen and music theater innovator, Taylor Mac. Together, we explore the manifesto as both form and performance, as well as their competing visions of the roles and responsibilities of the theater artist to the society in which they work and live. Naturally, we also attempt our own manifestos, putting into words our own deep convictions about the theater and its importance in our contemporary world.

An investigation, using English materials, of the major developments and forms of the Japanese theater, from Noh and its antecedents to the rise of a modern drama. In this course we are less concerned with the performative aspects of theatrical arts (though these will be introduced via videos) than with the ways in which dramatic texts influenced and borrowed from the literary tradition. Readings from major theatrical texts, secondary studies on Japanese theater, and literary sources. Prerequisite: junior standing or permission of instructor.Same as L05 Japan 446

Survey course covering the history of the performance space and the scenic design elements contained within that space. The visual elements and theater architecture of each period are examined in relationship to the art and technology of the time. Prerequisites: Drama 207C or Drama 208C, and Drama 212E.

This course is an in-depth exploration of core works of dramatic theory from the ancient world to the present, and studies texts that enunciate what theater is, has been, and should be. We study authors' expressions of theater's role in society, their articulations of and responses to anti-theatrical prejudice, and their negotiations of the contradiction of putting "the real" on stage. Other significant themes include: accounting for the aesthetic pleasures of drama and theater; theater as a means of educating the citizen; and the relationship between dramatic form and social and political revolution. Moving chronologically, we begin with foundational documents of the ancient world, including Aristotle's Poetics, Bharata's Natyasastra, and Horace's Ars Poetica. The course then progresses through the Middle Ages, the Neoclassical and Romantic eras, and the explosion of fin de siècle avant-gardes. We also read key texts from beyond the European tradition, including works of dramatic theory written in medieval Japan (Zeami), postcolonial Nigeria (Soyinka), and the millennial, multicultural U.S. (Parks). Along these same lines, we also are attuned to transnational exchange and influence, particularly as it appears in the 20th-century theories of Bertolt Brecht, Antonin Artaud, and Konstantin Stanislavsky. Though focused on efforts to describe and prescribe theories of drama, dramatic genre, and theatrical pleasure, the course also positions play scripts alongside the theoretical treatises that guide or are guided by them.

This course offers an organized independent study for advanced students in playwriting. The class is structured by the participants. Prerequisites: Drama 227 Playwriting, Drama 473 Advanced Playwriting and permission of instructor.

An exploration of the dynamic interplay between high Baroque culture and the perceived style of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Primary sources used are paintings, sculpture and renderings for Baroque operas, as well as rare artifacts which exist from that time as these sources relate to classical evidence extant in that period. Secondary sources are journal articles and records of fully staged productions of intervening years. Primary interest is retracing the thought processes of the designers of Baroque opera. Focus is on Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, looking at the libretto and its relationship to source texts, both ancient and contemporary, and also its place within the cultural history of the theatre. Projects include: in-class presentations and a research paper or fully realized design project.

L15 Drama 456 A Madman in the Theater: The History of Insanity on Stage from Sophocles to Shaffer

The image of the madman and the theme of insanity have been extraordinarily captivating to theater artists from the Greeks to the present. In this course we consider some of the most remarkable examples from the classical period, including Sophocles' Ajax and Euripides' Medea and The Bacchae, and the Renaissance (Hamlet, Othello, The Spanish Tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi, Life is a Dream). We investigate these works both for what they tell us about the image of the madman in the historical period and culture in which they were written as well as in order to closely examine the texts themselves. We also examine plays from the 19th and 20th centuries, including Buchner's Woyzeck,O'Neill's Emperor Jones, Anouilh's The Madwoman of Chaillot, Miller's Death of a Salesman and Shaffer's Equus. Finally, the course makes extensive use of the Performing Arts Department's production of Peter Weiss' extraordinary work Marat/Sade and incorporate theoretical writings such as Michael Foucault's Madness and Civilization into discussions.

Close textual analyses of stage plays and their film adaptations, examining structural parameters such as space, time point of view, spectator position and performance in the two art forms. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor.

Developed with the director and designer in mind, this course encourages imaginative theater making by developing the student's own sense of creative confidence and ability, by expanding the source options for artistic inspiration, by recognizing and valuing the synergistic properties of transcendent theater making, and by strengthening the collaborative skills essential to the art. The course includes creativity exercises, comprehensive forms of text analysis, exploration of other art forms, cooperative conceptual projects, and field trips to area productions and museums. Students is expected to complete several individual projects, presentations and research papers, as well as intensive small-group projects. Prerequisite: one of the following courses: Drama 307, 310, 311 or 343.

Survey of the performance and literary traditions of the Chinese theater from their pre-Tang origins to the present day. The course focuses on three forms: 14th-century zaju plays, 16th- and 17th-century chuanqi plays, and recent films from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Background in either China studies or theater in other cultures recommended.Same as L04 Chinese 467

This course examines Shakespeare's comedies in performance. Combining scene work and production history, students gain access to the world of the comedies from a hands-on, theoretical and historical perspective. Prerequisites: Drama 395C or permission of instructor.

A practical course exploring the basic techniques and different methods of constructing hats and accessories. Students work with a variety of materials including buckram, straw, felt and wire that they purchase. Research and design projects culminate in the construction of several projects in class. Prerequisite: Drama 307 or 421 or permission of instructor.

This course explores the tendencies and relationship between each individual student writer and the page. Exercises dispel any lingering doctrine that presupposes a certain style of writing. A large part of the class centers around collaborations. The writers write scenes as a final project for an acting class, and also work with two professional actors in an extended writing project that culminates in a script-in-hand presentation. The informal moments between collaborations look at the process beyond the first draft — i.e., the playground of language, nonverbal options, and the maintaining of "the work" through rewrites, readings, workshops and productions. Prerequisite: Drama 227.

This course explores in depth the major theoretical texts on acting and performance theory. Pertinent philosophical texts, dramatic theories, acting systems and methodologies are studied. The survey operates chronologically from early documents on acting (Greek, Roman, Italian Renaissance) through to modern and contemporary documents that inform acting and acting training today (Stanislavsky, Brecht, Grotowski, Meisner, Spolin, Suzuki). Methodologies and practices of select major stage actors are explored as well. In some cases, directing theories that have had major influence on acting theory are examined.

Encompassing both creative and technical aspects of sound in the performing arts, the course gives theoretical knowledge of and practical experience in the following areas: fundamental rules of physics and electronics related to sound, use of standard digital recording studio equipment, "training" of the ear, and basic techniques of sound montage. Students are expected to participate in a variety of conceptual and research-oriented exercises as well as complete several lab projects. Sound-related work on Performing Arts Department productions may be required. Prerequisites: Drama 212 and permission of instructor.

This course introduces students to contemporary theories of performance, with "performance" understood as both metaphor and event. From a multidisciplinary perspective, students consider how cultures produce meanings — and, indeed, perform those meanings — to create and/or disrupt their own social coherence. Theories likely to be studied include: J.L. Austin's speech-act theory and its engagement by John Searle and Jacques Derrida; Victor Turner's analysis of ritual as social process and Richard Schechner's use of it to transform "theater studies" into "performance studies;" Erving Goffman's sociology of the self and its relation to a post-structuralist model of subjectivity; Michael Fried's screed against minimalist art and its relation to Happenings, Body Art, Fluxus, and other mid- to late-20th century examples of "performance art;" and Judith Butler's influential revision of Austin's performative in her theory of queer "performativity."

Students may contract with a faculty supervisor for credit for their work on theatrical productions or research. Contracts must be signed by the student and the coordinator of Drama 500 before the student's work on the project commences. Credit and grade option to be determined in each case. In order to enroll for this course, students must complete a contract and submit it to the Performing Arts Department office.